1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle driver identification. More specifically, the present invention relates to determining the driver versus the passengers of a vehicle.
2. Background of the Invention
In the case of vehicular traffic on a roadway, waterway, etc., there are several archaic and time-consuming procedures that are undergone by drivers, municipalities, and law enforcement. Specifically, the payment of tolls requires drivers to stop at a toll booth, or purchase an EZ-Pass® card and set up the account. Driving on toll roads requires toll booths to be set up at specific distances along the road. Driving in carpool or High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes requires constant monitoring and enforcement by traffic police to ensure that vehicles without passengers remain out of the HOV lane. Further, collecting fees for tolls, lane usage, fines, etc. is a complex process requiring issuing tickets, or billing several separate accounts for the driver. Several costs are incurred by the municipality in enforcing payments, and by the driver in keeping track of tickets, late fees, etc.
Present-day technology can alleviate some of these problems. Notably, microelectronic devices are becoming more and more ubiquitous. By coupling processors, memories, and transceivers to these devices, almost any handheld object can become a wireless communication device capable of transmitting and receiving data over a network. It is easy to set up a personal-area network with a few such devices incorporated into various everyday objects. However, this functionality is currently not being exploited to its full level. In the case of paying tolls, a driver is still required to stop at a toll booth or purchase and set up a separate account. Traffic police are still manually controlling a driver's use of an HOV lane.
Some vehicles have transceivers coupled to them, such as cellular or GPS units, but are still unable to measure or transmit several crucial pieces of information that would otherwise be useful in billing or charging a driver of the vehicle. Finally, any enforcement of fines, tickets, etc. is still based on a paper-based system using postal mail to deliver ticket notices, and receive payments.
What is needed is a means for seamlessly charging and/or billing a driver of a vehicle in real-time, based upon the location of the vehicle, and the number of passengers in the vehicle.